As a part of Entrepreneur journey I love to keep reading lot many stuff online, this will help us to gain information what is going on in market. Being an Internet Marketing Consultant, it’s best way to keep updated. As seems that Indian E-Commerce Market is growing at rapid speed and many new players are jumping in, many are start getting funding too. Even Google India offering free Website for SME that shows Online Market is getting hotter.

When I read that one site called BeStylish is come up with exclusive shoe store online and also got funded by Mangrove Capital Partners, then I feel I should check this site. During the time BeSylish started coming with TV commercials to gain more eyeballs as well visitors. (Check Video) After watching that TV Add I felt they are really serious for business and I should purchase shoe from then when ever I am planning.

Finally the day come when I feel I will order sports shoe from BeStylish. I visited site and I love specially their search facility it’s really user friendly. I have two option to go with but I fix up one Nike Shoe which was/is worth of 2995 and It was listed at 1299 after discount. I felt that this is really good discount and as they have few size left they want to clear the stock.

After thinking while I place an order and pop out my Credit Cart from pocket to pay it online. Before feeling information I just checked cart and I got shocked that they are asking me full money. i.e. 2995. As being active on Twitter and Social Media abdicated, I just tweeted them that BeSylish is not working proper and I am not able to purchase the shoe.  It was on 2nd November.

I want to be stylish via @BeStylish_com but It really sucks. Showing cost 1299 & while checkout asking 2995. #IndiaEcommerce. – My Tweet to BeStylish

I was waiting for their response and feel like that I will get response in few hours. But I got reply from then on 2nd day evening. They admit they are having problem with the site and they will solve that.

@jaydipparikh -hey! sorry but this was due to a technical error at our end.. someone at beStylish is rectifying this as we tweet – BeSylish reply me on 2nd day evening

I felt that shocking. If you are getting millions of dollars for establishment of you brand then you should focus more on CORE things not on TV commercials or any other marketing medium.

BeSylish Review

• I like the search feature of the site, it is really user friendly.
• They might be failed on technology part, as I mention earlier they can spend few million on TV Ads but they can’t make error proof store.
• They again failed on Customer care (at least on Twitter) to response me.
• Well ! I forgot to mention but still that Nike shoe is not showing on stock.
• Their technical team might not be strong as they disable that product not able to rectify problem.

Well do you think there are more then require funding for E-Commerce startups and this might be ecommerce bubble ? Share your experience for ecommerce as well.

Online marketing has only just made its presence known in the international realm of retailing but its speed, effectiveness and cost saving value has already perched it astride a pedestal in the diverse array of marketing strategies that exist out there. Listed below are some of the benefits businesses stand to reap from investing in internet marketing.

It is cost effective

An e-store ( eCommerce ) is far more cost effective than maintaining a physical storefront that requires the payment of rent, employees wages, utilities and insurance. Online marketing is inexpensive and pragmatic because the ratio of cost is miniscule when compared to the reach of a website. Apart from that, online marketing tools such as e-newsletters, email communications and digital catalogues cost substantially less than printing and disseminating paper catalogues, brochures and pamphlets.

It is efficient

Unlike traditional advertisements in newspapers, magazines or on television as well as paper catalogue, brochure or pamphlet where prices are fixed until the next printing cycle – digital catalogues, social media and blogs can be updated hourly, daily or even weekly to respond to fluctuating market prices. This is a particular advantage in sectors such as the jewellery industry where prices of raw materials are volatile. Apart from that, companies can choose to change the wording of a particular online advertisement or an online newsletter if they find it is not resonating with customers. The same changes cannot be performed with more conventional forms of offline marketing.

The Internet is an international marketplace

The Internet is a global sphere where buyers from disparate corners of the world have an opportunity to view your product and services, unlike a physical storefront that is only accessible by buyers in that region. A website is a convenient, timely and effective way for customers to ascertain the look and prices of products they may be interested in.

The very seamless nature of the Internet allows customers to easily research and purchase products and services and it has the ability to convert a customer into buying a particular product or service. A few clicks of the mouse is all that is involved in an online transaction.

Expands customer databases

By using online marketing devices, corporations can learn more about the needs and concerns of their target demographic audiences by tracking real-time results and measuring customer statistics in a simple, inexpensive way. Almost all aspects of online marketing – from websites to email communications and e-newsletters – can be monitored and tested to ascertain which messages and offerings are appealing to their customer base.

Companies use a variety of ways to do this, one of which includes the pay per click method and online analytics. In the online realm, companies can even target specific demographics to determine their spending habits and sentiments. Online marketing allows companies to target specific genders, age groups, occupations, income levels and so forth. This information is pivotal and could lead to an expansion in customer databases or the success of a particular marketing campaign.

Just last week I was talking about India Ecommerce and during the time Google has taken giant step. I am sure that was not due to my article. Smile. Google is going to  provide free website for Indian SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprise) Industries. There are nearly 8 million SMEs in India and very few is having their online presence. Google is planning to hit aprox 5,00,000 companies with in first year. This campaign is known as “India get your business online”.

Who is behind India Get Online ?

This campaign is lead by Google but HostGator is playing major roll in this as well. Those who don’t know about HostGator, I would love to inform that, HostGator is one of the Biggest Hosting Provider and having office in USA as well as HostGator started operation in India too. ICICI Bank is also backing this initiative. Many of you must be knowing that ICICI Bank is second largest bank of India. They also have FISME as their Partner for this initiative. FISME is the national federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

What SMEs will get ?

Well ! You should not bother what you will get as you you are getting is free. Hey ! don’t get angry I was just joking. Let’s keep joke apart. The following this you will get for make your life better.

• Free .in domain (valid for one year)
• Free & Easy to build Website.
• Hosting for 1 Year
• Free Email ID (Google Apps. )
• And What else you want ? I guess all covered.

What things need to get this offer ?

Well ! First of all let me be clear that this offer is only for Indian Business. So this will be prime requirement that you should be Indian business unit with following things mention bellow.

All you need any one of following document.

• Permanant Account Number (PAN)
• Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN)
• Corporate Identify Number (CIN)

Will it change India’s online Business ?

You can read above title as my thoughts about Indian get Online.

If you just want to check my answer in YES or NO then I will say, YES, this will make BIG impact on India’s SMEs segment. As it is free and they are claiming that It will make site in just 15 min, people will sure give a try. Partners like ICICI Bank and FISME are having very good network in India. Google it self is one of the Biggest brand for India and it covers nearly 85% share in Search Engine.

Even many SMEs are want to be online and looking for cheap options for website (that’ why Internet Marketing Consultant sometimes suffers too ) but on personal front I must say this will give new way of thinking to SMEs too.

In nut shell all will won. Google, ICICI Group or HostGator will have strong roots in India.

What will Google or Partners Earn / Gain out of It ?

If you are thinking on monitory aspect they might not earn much or even they might not earn single penny for first year.

• They (Google) are suggesting almost all tools to SMEs like
• Google Local (Maps)
• Google Adwords
• Google Analytics
• Google Webmasters
• Hostgator start earning renewal from next year. Even for first year .in domain cost Rs. 99 to individuals so It will be not much cost compare to reach hostgator will gain.
• ICICI Bank will gain surely more database and direct reach to SMEs.
• Google will get more database for Google Places and this time it will be more perfect compare to other sources.
• Google will have more opportunity to gain more Adwords customers in future.

I guess you should at least give a try to this. What’s your comment about this ?

This guest post is by Dave. If you want to post as Guest Author, Kindly contact us.

It is important to know that by improving Adsense CTR, you can get more money than you are currently making with Google Adsense. CTR stands for Click Through Rate and reflects a specific ratio that consists of the number of clicks out of the total number of visitors. For example, a CTR of 3% basically means that you get 3 clicks out of 100 visitors who are viewing your website. But, what can you do if your CTR is low? Are there any ways to increase your Adsense CTR?

Methods to Improve Adsense CTR

In order to answer to the aforementioned questions, you must know that you can improve Google Adsense CTR quite easily. In order to help you with this issue, the following lines explain you how to complete this task. Therefore, what you have to do is to:

• Post different Adsense ads on the text-rich pages; moreover, you must choose different keywords so that Adsense has numerous options to work with
• Try to get rid of any public service ads (PSA); usually, these services do not pay a thing for your efforts; in most cases, the PSA appears because Adsense does not find any adds to fit your web page
• Another thing that you can do is to avoid titles, such as “advertisements” and “sponsored links” above your Adsense ads; this thing represents a very important issue, as “Ads by Google” is the only title Google accepts for its ads
• It is also important to use the section targeting; this thing actually means that you are able to target a specific ad unit, which is relevant to your web page; you can also remove or block out any irrelevant sections, such as navigation links

The Most Suitable Adsense Placement for the Best CTR

It is also important to know that the location of the Google ads on a web page represents a crucial aspect for a high CTR. Thus, there are a few rules that you must respect in order to get a better CTR than you already have.

• Place the Google ads on top of the page so that the visitors do not have to scroll down to view the ads; it is important to bear in mind that more visibility brings along  more  clicks.
• Try to change the location of ads occasionally; this thing can be easily done by using different channels that allow you to see the best possible location for a specific ad
• Provide sufficient free space around the ads; this way, the users are able to see the ads easily.
• It is also essential to know that most Adsense users have recorded a high CTR with the help of vertical ads; however, the type of ads mainly depends on your website  structure.
• Additionally, you must know that the best possible location for ads is the right side of your website; as most users usually use the mouse to scroll the page down, they are able to easily click ads they want

Besides all these things, you should also learn how to match the colors and fonts of the ads with your website while avoiding ad-blindness. This thing can easily help you capture the attention of your visitors and get a truly high CTR.

This is my first post after being Entrepreneur. I guess you all knowing that now I am now founder of Gujarat’s first and only Internet Marketing Institute, which provides SEO Training at Ahmedabad, with PPC Training and Social Media Training too.

You must be knowing that Google just rollout Google +1 feature as experiment search and they are going to take this is as Personalised recommendation from your friends about your require Search Terms.

Thos who are not update about this search can check more about Google +1 as well as they can check following Google +1 Video.

Now you are pretty much clear about What is Google +1. If still not then just read Google’s statement about Google +1.

Use the +1 button to publicly show what you like, agree with, or recommend on the web. The +1 button can appear in a variety of places, both on Google and on sites across the web. For example, you might see a +1 button for a Google search result, Google ad, or next to an article you’re reading on your favorite news site. Your +1’s and your social connections also help improve the content you see in Google Search.

How to activate Google +1 ?

• 
  If you want to use Google +1 then you must have to keep login while search.
• If you want to see recommendation from your friends then you must have configure your Google Profile.
• Don’t forgot to put your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profile URL.
• Got to Google Experimental and Click “Join This Experiment” button just next to Google +1 Option.
• You are done buddy. Don’t forgot Google +1 is supported by Chrome, Firefox 3.6, Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, and Safari 4. If you using any other web browser then you need to switch to any one of them.

Google +1 Effects on SEO

I don’t want to make it too technical article as this is new feature rolled out and still need to check many things about it. to note a few major things which I can visualise about Google +1 & SEO are as follows.

• SEO will not be pure Link Building Game. Of course link building will have their values.
• Now Title Tag with Spam content will be history as people will not like/recommend this kind of  sites.
• Company should not only focus on SEO or Ranking but also focus on User Experience. If user find good experience over website they will surely recommends your site.
• If you are targeting wrong keywords on wrong page then not only you are increasing your bounce rate but also you are losing hope for getting one more +1.
• Now company who wants good ranking or recommended ranking by user then they must have to Social too.
• Google +1 might be change the game as it shows like Facebook Like. The best part is that Facebook is closed network and Google is open network.
• Social Media Marketing game will be even tough as now Social Media indications like RT, Like, Flickr etc also helping for Organic ranking. SEO must have to know more about Social Media.

As of now this much point are came in my mind. Suggest me if I am missing any other viewpoints.

Kindly note that Google +1 is not going to change Google Rankings until user log in to his her account and this is still limited to experiments.

While Surfing I just come to know that Google is having one more company at his plate. This time Picnik, Online Photo Editing Site. Few months back Google acquire reCAPTCHA.

For People who are not knowing what is Picnik

Picnik is a fast, fun, easy to use and powerful set of photo editing tools for editing, sharing and printing images using any internet browser on any computer platform. Picnik is integrated with a wide variety of websites like Picasa Web Albums, Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo! Mail and Photobucket. With Picnik, you can edit your photos wherever they are from wherever you are.

Why Google acquire Picnik ? (in their own word – from their blog)

We’re very impressed with the Picnik team and the product they’ve created, and we’re excited to welcome them to Google. We’re looking forward to collaborating closely with them to improve the online photo editing experience on the web. In the meantime, we encourage you to head to Picnik, import some of your photos from Picasa Web Albums, Flickr or Facebook and try your hand at photo editing in the cloud!

Check official announcement at Googles Blog and Picnik blog

Google is threatening to close its operations in China after what it said were a series of cyberattacks aimed at the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

The company said last night that it had detected a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China”. Further investigation showed that “a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists”. Google said that at least 20 other large companies from a range of businesses had been similarly targeted.

Google did not accuse the Chinese Government directly. However, the company added that it was “no longer willing to continue censoring our results” on its Chinese search engine, as the Government requires. Google said the decision could force it to close its Chinese site and offices in the country.

The internet giant believes that the attack was mostly blocked and that only minor information, such as creation dates and subject lines, were stolen from two accounts. It said that the investigation showed that accounts of dozens of China human rights activists using Gmail in Europe, China or the US had been “routinely accessed” using malware (malicious software).

Google first agreed to censor search results in China in 2006 when it created a version of its search engine bearing China’s web suffix, “.cn.” Previously, Chinese-language results had been available through the company’s main Google.com site.

To obtain its Chinese licence, Google agreed to omit web content that the Government found objectionable. At the time Google executives said they struggled to reconcile this concession with the company’s motto of “don’t be evil”.

By then Yahoo! had come under fire for giving the Chinese Government account information of a journalist who was later convicted for violating state secrecy laws.

David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, said: “These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered — combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web — have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese Government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all.”

The 20 other large companies attacked include finance, internet, media, technology, and chemical businesses, according to Google.

“We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant US authorities,” Mr Drummond said.

Mr Drummond said Google accepted that defying the Government’s demands about filtering internet search engine results may mean having to shut down its operations.

With an estimated 360 million internet users, China has a bigger online population than any other country. But the ruling Communist Party worries the internet could become a dangerous conduit for threatening images and ideas.

If Google were to pull out it would be a severe reversal for the internet search company which has endured sustained criticism for its policy in China.

Google set up in China in January 2006 and agreed to comply with the Government’s “Great Firewall”. This meant that whenever people in China searched for banned Chinese keywords, a warning came up that “In accordance with local laws, regulations and policies, part of the search result is not shown.”

The company argued that it was better to be in China to make most information available rather than not have its service available at all and that it could play a role more useful to the cause of free speech by participating in China’s IT industry.

Source : timesonline.co.uk

In 1996, Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page famously started the search  company in a Stanford dorm room. The two eventually moved the company to a Menlo Park garage, which the company quickly outgrew. Sun Microsystems founder Andy Bechtolsheim was the company’s first investor with other notable investors including Ron Conway, John Doerr, Mike Moritz and Ram Shriram.

Now Google is such a giant company. Number one search engine with highest market share. Google is having best vision for acquiring company. Till now Google had acquire many companies like Orkut, You Tube, Feed Burner, Double click and some more. Now this thing extended up to reCAPTCHA. Google has officially announcer that they had acquire reCAPTCHA.

Check following text from Google’s own Blog.

we’re excited to welcome the reCAPTCHA team to Google, and we’re committed to delivering the same high level of performance that websites using reCAPTCHA have come to expect. Improving the availability and accessibility of all the information on the Internet is really important to us, so we’re looking forward to advancing this technology with the reCAPTCHA team.

You can check official Google Post : Teaching computers to read: Google acquires reCAPTCHA